Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Pygmalia Blog Tour

I am so excited to be participating in this tour. I love and adore Stephanie and her books are just amazing. On my stop there is a spotlight, guest post, excerpt, review, and giveaway.

Stephanie was born and raised in Miami where she currently
works as a mental health counselor. In her spare time she loves to read, write,
spend time with loved ones, travel, and watch anything made in the UK. Her other
works include books one and two of The Draconi Series.

That’s a difficult question. I don’t really have very many
pet peeves when it comes to writing, to be honest. I suppose finding a typo
after reading something several times can be a bit annoying, or thinking you
have an original idea, and then you find out someone else has already written
about it. That feels more like a downer than a pet peeve.

Outside of writing, I can name plenty of pet peeves though!
Traffic, rude people, disorganization, procrastination. . . I could go on.
Writing is sort of my sanctuary from all those annoying things that come up in
life. When I write, I control the world, I make people say and do what I want
them to do. I don’t have to think about the commute to work, the laundry
sitting in the hamper, the chicken in the fridge that needs cooking. It’s a lot
easier than dealing with things in the real world.

I know that there are some people that might say getting bad
reviews might be a pet peeve. It hurts, but it’s not really an annoyance. It’s
hard to get irritated over someone’s opinion. That would be like getting
annoyed at someone who doesn’t like the same food as you, or the same music.
You just have to shrug it off and keep on moving.

I suppose something that can be a bit of a nuisance is being
too tired to write. You get home from a long day at work and you know exactly
what you want to write but your brain has shut down for the day. Focusing and
getting everything down on the computer becomes tantamount to pulling teeth.
This happens to me a lot, but I try my best to deal with that lethargy and push
through. That’s the only thing you can do when you get to that point. You just
have to get through the initial feelings of exhaustion and remember how much
you love to be in the worlds you’re creating.

Lily is the heir to her father’s family
fortune, except she wants no part in it. Especially if it means having to spend
months away from her loving mother, being ignored by her genius, yet reclusive
father, and tormented by her domineering grandmother.

Since her parent’s divorce, Lily has been forced to spend every summer, bored
to death, at her father’s dilapidated estate in England. The one consolation is
that this is the last summer she will have to visit before her eighteenth
birthday frees her of this obligation. What Lily didn’t expect to find was
someone who is just as lonely and out of place as she is. Someone that could
make her actually want to stay at the rundown mansion.

Deep in the basement of her father’s home, she finds Adam, who is half human,
half machine. He is her father’s latest prototype: a creation built for war,
but able to do so much more than just basic fighting tactics and artillery
protocol. Lily cannot help but be drawn to her father’s experiment, though
she’s certain nothing can come of it. When she realizes that Adam will
eventually be taken from her and potentially destroyed, she must decide whether
putting her family in jeopardy is worth the risk of helping him escape.

Excerpt:

It was the guy from the laboratory; he
managed to find me, and the panic coursing through my body is enough to send me
curling up into a ball, just letting him drag me to whatever hell he came from.
I can’t though; I can’t keep from fighting back. I struggle to get his hand
loose from around my wrist, but there’s no use. I smack him, push at him, and
even punch him in the face, which hurt me more than it appeared to affect him.
He’s immovable.

“Please,” I finally resort to pleading with him, “Please don’t hurt me.” I feel
more tears streaming down my face; I fall to my knees, covering my mouth to
keep from weeping. I don’t even care about dirtying the dress further; it was
ruined the second I stepped foot in these woods.

“I have no instructions to hurt you. I’m here to bring you back to your
father.” He says plainly. I can barely see his face in the shadows, but I
remember those haunting blue eyes.

“What does he want with me?” I say, drying my tears with the back of my hand.

“I don’t know. I have only been told to find you and bring you back.”

“Who are you?”

“I was instructed to keep all information regarding myself and your father
classified. Please come with me, or I will have to use force.”

“I thought you said you weren’t supposed to hurt me,” I say.

“I do not need to hurt you to get you to come with me,” I can tell that he’s
probably from the London
area, based on his accent.

“If I go with you, back to the house, what will happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then I think I’ll stay here.”

“The likelihood of your survival out here is scarce. You will only injure
yourself further.” I can feel him touching a cut on my arm I got from running
into a branch when I first ventured into the woods. His hand is warm, the way a
live human person’s would feel against my skin.

“Please come with me,” he says, and holds out something. I grab the objects,
realizing they’re my heels.

“You brought my shoes?”

“I thought they might be of use to you.”

“Heels in the forest, in the dark? Not so much useful as they are an accident
waiting to happen,” I grumble. “Alright, lead the way. But if you try and hurt
me, I’m jabbing this Manolo Blahnik in your eye socket.”

“What is a Manolo Blahnik?” he asks. I can’t see his face, but I’m sure it
looks extremely confused. Guys.

“Never mind,” I sigh, “just know that I will do some damage if you try
anything.”

“I understand,” he says. As we begin our trek back to the house, I stumble a
few times. He grabs my waist before I fall flat on my face, and takes my hand
in his; it’s softer than I would have imagined it to be. “This might help,” he
says as he triggers something on his hand. A light emanates from beneath his
skin, turning it an orangey pink. I pull away from him and point at his hand.

“How did you do that?”

“It’s one of my tools. I don’t need it really, but I suppose you do,” he says
holding out his unlit hand to me, while stretching the other in front of him so
he can light my way.

“What are you?”

“I am Prototype 78.”

“What does that even mean? That doesn’t tell me anything about you.”

“It’s not supposed to,” he keeps his gaze forward as we walk down the hillside
towards the house. We moved silently through, and as we passed the lake, I
couldn’t help but feel unnerved by him.

“Are you some kind of alien?”

“I can’t answer that,” his face barely shows any kind of emotion, but there’s
something in there; I remember seeing it when I looked into his eyes.

“You were dead,” I press on. “You were dead on that table when I found you, and
then you just woke up. So you’re obviously not human. You’re some kind of
experiment he’s working on.” He doesn’t respond, so I keep deducing on my
own.“You have scars, but they look nothing like what I’d imagine a zombie would
look like. You’ve got that light coming out of your hand, and you were able to
track me in this darkness. I’m guessing alien.”

“I’m not an alien,” he finally admits.

“Aha!” I jump and point at him. “So you’re an experiment. Like Frankenstein,
just not as gross looking.”

“Frankenstein is not the name of the monster; it’s the name of the doctor. The
monster never had a name.”

“Are you saying you’re Frankenstein’s monster?”

“I’m not a monster,” he says, except for the first time, there’s sadness behind
his words. He looks down at his hand, as if somehow disgusted with himself, but
his movements are robotic. Even his affect is flat and unexpressive.

“Fair enough, you’re not a monster,” I say. He looks down at me and seems
relieved; he’s not a monster, but he’s definitely not human.

Review:

I was so wrapped up into this unique book that I read it in
one sitting and I am still left wanting more.

Lily is heir to her family’s fortune but she wants none of
it. She would rather stay in the USA
then be forced to spend another summer in London
with her recluse father and a verbally abusive grandmother. It’s not until she
forces herself into her dad’s lab in the house that things start to change for
her. She meets Adam; her father’s creation. He is part human part machine.
Lily’s father is not at all happy with her interference in his work but she
uses threats to get her way with him. But when Lily and Adam learn why he was
created they try to figure out way to get him out of it. But with emotions
getting stronger and people closing in on them can they get Adam out safely
before he or Lily are terminated?

When I read the synopsis for this book I was instantly drawn
in and the Stephanie didn’t disappoint me. Lily is so strong and she’s
defiantly a character teen girls can look up to. I looked up to her and admired
her strength and her ability to handle anything that was thrown at her. Adam is
my new book crush. There is something about him that makes him so vulnerable
but strong at the same time. His feelings for Lily are so strong even when he
doubts if they are real due to being part machine. But he goes through get
lengths to keep her safe and to let her know he loves her and will do anything
for her. The chemistry between them is magical and leaves you almost feeling
like you intruding on hem when they are spending time with one another. Another
character I love is Virgil but I really can’t say why without giving any spoilers
but just know he really steps up and helps Lily and Adam when it matters most.

I can not wait for the next book in this exciting new series
filled with action, heart ache, lost, and love.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I would also like to Thank Stephanie for letting me review your book and Thank Jaidis for letting me participate in this tour. Don't forget to enter the giveaway.